Golf-Players battered by brutal St George’s weather

SANDWICH, England, July 16 (Reuters) - It was a test of mental fortitude as much as golfing talent in the third round of the British Open on Saturday as relentless wind and rain lashed the south-east coast and battered the 71-man field into submission.

The opening two days at Royal St George’s featured bright sun with gusting breezes but, as forecast, Saturday dawned grey and dull and the wind and rain soon came swooping in from the English Channel.

By the time the majority of the field were on the course, conditions had worsened considerably and thousands of hardy fans who had braved the morning deluge and gale-force gusts began streaming for the exits even before joint overnight leaders Darren Clarke and Lucas Glover were on the first tee.

Many players predicted that par would be a highly-competitive total by the end of the day and even that began to look ambitious as a succession of early starters trudged off the 18th with numbers that would normally shame a monthly medal.

Australian Matthew Millar, playing alone, was the first to return to the clubhouse with a 10-over 80 while 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie shot an 81.

South Korea’s Hwang Jung-gon began with five successive bogeys en route to an 83 while American Spencer Levin dropped 12 shots in 12 holes from the fourth.

“The conditions were brutal,” a bedraggled Millar told reporters. “It didn’t matter whether it was into the wind or downwind it was really tough to keep dry and trying to control your ball was virtually impossible.”

Britain’s Simon Khan, winner of the PGA Championship at Wentworth last year, ballooned to a 77.

“It was just unbelievably brutal,” he said. “At 14 you could barely make the fairway and if you aimed for the fairway the wind would take it out of bounds … the 14th was a par-six today.”

“I had eight towels in my bag and they were all wet,” said American Ryan Moore after his 76. “A score of even-par would be miraculous.”

TEN FOR HAVRET

The 14th also did for Frenchman Gregory Havret as last year’s U.S. Open runner-up carded a 10 on the way to a 78.

“If you’ve got any quit in you it’s going to be a long day,” said American Bo Van Pelt after a fighting 73. “It’s non-stop and if you let up you can make a big number in a hurry out there.

“But this is what it’s about. You come here and know this is part of the deal and if you’re not going to embrace it you might as well go home.”

Italian Edoardo Molinari (76) said he enjoyed the challenge of a course playing “stupidly difficult” but Briton Kennie Ferrie, who also shot 76, said: “It’s impossible out there, you can’t stay dry and after about three or four holes you give up on that as well.

“You have no idea what score you are, you’re trying to survive just trying to play each hole, not trying to make any disasters.

“I played very well to be honest and shot six over.”

American Stewart Cink, champion in 2009, said: “It’s almost indescribable how hard it was to play golf out there. As hard as it rained we didn’t use the umbrella much because you had to hold it sideways and you end up wearing yourself out just trying to brace it.”

Not everyone suffered, however, as 61-year-old Tom Watson, a renown performer in bad weather, used all his experience to reach the turn at one-under in the worst of it and his eventual 72 for a four-over total of 214 was nothing short of miraculous.

“Conditions are bothersome but you just try to do the best you can to keep your grips dry and your wits about you to try to make pars out there,” said Watson.

“This is a game and the challenge of dealing with conditions on a course like this is fun,” said the five-times Open champion.

“It can tear you up and spit you out—it’s done it to me — but I’ve been around enough times to say, okay, you’ve got to deal with it.”

At the other end of the age spectrum, 22-year-old Californian Rickie Fowler also buckled down admirably in the alien conditions that finally began to ease off later in the afternoon.

He carded a highly impressive 68 that keeps him in the hunt for not only his first major but his first title of any sort.